Introduction
"Acquainted with the Night" is one of the best-known poems of Robert Frost. It was first published in the volume of poems, "West- Running Brook" in 1928. This poem has something to learn from about the society and the city we know its night version. There are some more things in this article about the Critical Appreciation of Acquainted with the Night. So, without any delay, let’s start.
Critical Appreciation of Acquainted with the Night
The poet has been intimately acquainted with the night of a city. He has walked its streets, and beyond its boundary, in all kinds of weather. He has looked on the saddest city lanes and sometimes passed by the watchman on his duty. He has passed such a watchman, with downcast eyes just to avoid being encountered and interrogated about his wherefore and whereabouts. Sometimes he has suddenly stopped his steps in order to hear the cry coming from another lane, and sometimes, on seeing a "luminary clock” at an unearthly height". The clock proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. Thus he was acquainted with the night.
Metaphorical Meaning
On a metaphorical level, the poem means man cannot have full knowledge of the universe. The night symbolizes the barrier to man's understanding of the universe. There may be some other
interpretations, of course.
As a Sonnet
Some critics have called it a sonnet. It consists of 14 lines. There are five stanzas in all. Four of the stanzas are tercets, and the last stanza is a couplet. The rhyme scheme is aba bab aca cac aa. The predominant meter used here is iambic tetrameter, with many variations. It does not correspond to the basic three types of the sonnet- Italian, Shakespearean and Spenserian, but it is one type out of numerous varieties which have been experimented upon during the several hundred years. But here, in this sonnet, Frost's superb skill in controlled prosodic features is distinctly perceived. The rhyme scheme is such that it links all the stanzas into a symmetrical pattern observed in making a wreath of flowers.
Use of Rhetorical Devices
Various rhetorical devices have been used very successfully. Of them imagery, symbolism, antithesis, consonance, and dissonance are prominent. The persona of the poem symbolizes any human being, the night symbolizes the mystery of the universe or something which stands as a barrier to man's understanding of the universe. The images of a night-walker in a city, of the night with natural obstacles or difficulties created by phenomena like rains, and the luminary clock at an unearthly height, have been used with great suggestiveness appropriate for the themes of the poem. In the sentence
"I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet" the repetition of "s" sound in "stood", "still", and "stopped", and "sound", makes up an alliteration. Dissonance occurs in "And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain".
Diction
The words chosen are simple, everyday words, but they have great suggestiveness. The sentences are simple, uncomplicated, direct. All these techniques and poetic devices have made the poem a success.
Conclusion
Here is the complete Critical Appreciation of Acquainted with the Night. I hope you get a very clear concept of the poem. If you want to know more about English Literature and its important topics then you may read our other articles. Thanks for reading from us.
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